Traveling crane



, 1,614,769 J 7' A. AMSLER TRAVELING CRANE Filed Nov. 7, 1924 s -k Am5lf INVE NTOK Patented Jan. 18, 1927.

1,614,769 UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE.

nueus'r msnnn, or BERN, swr'rznnnmn, assranon '10 nwax 11.41., or 3mm,

p SWITZEBLAND, A CORPORATION OF SWITZERLAND.

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Application filed November 7, 1924, Serial No. 748,477, and in Switzerland November 15, 1923.

This invention relates to means for loading and unloading piece goods in bulk, such as package's, luggage, trunks and the like,

' into and 5 freight cars and the like. Loading such vehicles by hand as customaryheretofore requires much time and a large staff and can not always be effected with the desired careful attention to the goods. An important object of this invention is to simplify, accelerate and-improve such loading and unloading. Another object is to provide that the goods can be handled in bulk and loaded or unloaded by means of lifting and conveying gear. V v

The said lifting and conveying gear preferably takes the form of a travelling jib crane having an upwardly curved horizontal beam in the middle.

The invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of parts described hereinafter andpointed out in the claims.

Two forms of the invention are diagrammatically illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is an end elevation, partly in section, showing one form of the invention applied to a covered railway wagon, and

Figure 2 is a cross-section, enlarged, taken through the lifting gear shown in Figure 1; 'Figure 3 is a view corresponding to Figure 2 of a second form of lifting gear, and

Figure 4.- is a side elevation of the latter. Like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the several views.

Rails 11 for a traveling crane 13 running with rollers 12 thereon are mounted on the.

' two side walls of a covered railway wagon 10. The beam of the crane formed of two U-girders 14 is curved upwards in the middle to permit as much space as possible in the wagon to be used. For the same reason a jib likewise formed of two u -girders 15 is built into the beam and curved to the same radius.- The jib runs on rollers 16. On one of the girders 15 ismounted a. toothed rack 17, preferably constituted by a chain, with which meshes a gear wheel 18 that can .be driven in both directions by an electric motor 20 on the beam through the medium of change gear enclosed in a case 19, in order to shift the jib throu h one or other side door of the wagon an into the 58 interior of the wagon,

from covered railway wagons,

21. The operation of the two motors and the winding gear 26 can be controlled in any convenient known manner by switches in the wagon. The switches, conductors, source of current and other accessories do not constitute part of the invention in themselves and are not illustrated for the sake of clearness.

Instead of the twin motor jib crane described above with reference .to Figures 1 and 2, a jib crane with only one driving motor may be employed, if desired. Such a construction is illustrated by way of example in Figures 3 and 4, which will now be described. The beam comprises two U- girders 27 curved upwards in the middle. Between the same is a jib 28 which is curved upwards to the same radius; this jib comprises two girders rigidly connected together at their ends only and runs on rollers 29. The one jib girder carries a rack 30 which is positively connected with an electric motor 33 mounted on the crane beam by means of a reduction and change gear 31 and a chain gear 32. The motor 33 is connected with an endless chain 36 by means of a second chain gear 34 and a like reduction and change gear 35 which is shown only in Figure 4. The chain 36 runs over two sprocket wheels 37 mounted at the ends of the beam 28 and is supported at its two sides by sprocket rollers 38, carried on arms 39 projecting laterally from a beam girder. The chain' 36 serves solely for reciprocating between the ends of the jib two pins 40 that project laterally from the lower side of the endless chain, between which pins the hoist rope 41 passes. This rope is wound on a drum 42 which can be rotated by the motor by means of the change gear in a casing 43. The drum 42 can be braked in any convenient manner. Guide rollers 44 for the rope 41 are mounted on the two pins 40. For supporting the latter a rail 45 is arranged on the lower flange of the girder situated opposite the rail, on which rail the pins 40 bear by means of rollers 46.

. Any suitable form of container for the g by a clip or latch 7 articles may be employed, but I prefer to use a container such as that shown in Fig. 1, and constituting the subject matter of a copending divisional application. Briefly stated, the container comprises a base or platform 2 mounted on castored legs 1, with flexible sides 3 spaced and connected by bars 5, the flexible sides being attachable together The described device may be operated as follows :-If there are a large number of packages to be conveyed to one destination they are packed in containers of the kind described above. at large depots, e. g. at head and subpost oflices, the containe s thusbeing filled before being brought to the railway wagons. As thecontainers can hold a large number of packages or the like the filling of them can be prepared and simplified to a much greater extent than heretofore.

' This constitutes an important advantage of the invention for efliciency of the postal and railway services, as the time occupied in transport from post ofiices to the railway and reversely, and the time that trains have to stop, and the number of officials is relatively very limited. If there is no lifting and conveying gear at disposal at the railway wagon, the container is preferably filled .on a wheeled road vehicle, hand cart or the like, on which the filled container can conveni'entlv be conveyed-to the railway'wagon'. In order to lift the pontainer into the railway wagon the jib of the crane therein is run out-through the side of the wagon, the

book of the lifting gear is placed under the strap 7, the container is lifted, the jib is run back into the wagon, the lifting gear is likewise moved inwards and the crane is shifted,- if necessary, in the longitudinal direction of the wagon, The container lifted into the wagon can be run in the same to the desired place or the crane can be used for this purpose. Unloading is effected with and lowered only a small distance and at a lower speed than when the heights are greatany position within the said car. In an apparatus of the character de scr1bed,-the combination with the elements er, so that a relatively weak electricfcurrent, e. g. a lighting current of 36 volts, can be used for a lifting capacity of about 300 kg. A container-of this weight carries a large number of packages or the like. With the rapidly extending electrification of railways heavy current supply. e. g. such as used for heating, will be available in many railway wagons; By providing a battery of accumulators in the wagon the electric current can be stored in known manner, and can be used when the locomotive or other machine, which assures the current being generated. is stationary. Also it is possible, by providing a current transformer set in the wagon, so to transform electric current,

when necessary, that it can be employed for i the lifting and conveying gear. The one or more electric motors which di ive the lifting and conveying gear may be fed from a source of current which is either in'or on the railwa wagon itself, or is outside and separate t erefrom and connected with it in known manner.

In the event of the electric drive failing the described lifting and conveying-gear can be driven manually by placing on the /end of the armature shaft of eachmotor' a hand wheel with or without a chain to be worked by hand, or by placing a crank handle on the shafts.

I claim I 1. A loading and unloading apparatus for railway cars comprising an arched traveling crane extending .transversely'of' the sides of the' car and movable from end to end, a jib conforming to the curvature of said crane and operablet'o a position beyond either end of the crane to project to the left or the right of the side doors of the car when loading and unloading. and a carrier cooperating with the end of the said jib for movement to claimed in. claim 1, of a ,power operated windingmechanism for raising and lowering the carrier to and from the riglit or left of the ra1lway car and moving the said crane and 11b to any position within theinterior thereof. I I

AUGUSTAMSLEB. 

